Two indicted in alleged theft of court records database source code

Two former employees of Alabama's court system were indicted on Wednesday for allegedly stealing the source code for a court-records database and transferring it to a Florida-based company.

By
Jeremy Kirk
| Nov 16, 2012

| IDG News Service

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Two former employees of Alabama's court system were indicted on Wednesday for allegedly stealing the source code for a court-records database and transferring it to a Florida-based company.

The employees, Michael David Carroll, 58, and Jill Hawthorne, 35, worked for Alabama's Administrative Office of the Courts (AOC). Carroll was the former director of information systems, and Hawthorne was a former database administrator, according to a news release from the US Department of Justice.

They are charged with one count of stealing property having a value of US$5,000 or more by an employee of a state or local government agency that receives $10,000 or more annually in federal assistance, the DOJ said.

The two are accused of stealing the source code and schema for an AOC database called Namemaster along with hundreds of thousands of court records from Jefferson County, Alabama. The data was given to CyberBest Technology, a private software development company based in Orlando, Florida, that specialises in building systems for the public legal sector and law enforcement agencies, the DOJ said.

The original indictment, which would likely contain more details on the allegations, was not immediately available on the court's website. CyberBest Technology officials could not be immediately reached for comment.

The case is being prosecuted in US District Court for the Northern District of Alabama. If convicted, Carroll and Hawthorne could face up to 10 years in prison and a $250,000 fine, the DOJ said.